ARLINGTON, Texas -- Josh Hamilton has a strained left hamstring, forcing him to miss Tuesday's 15-2 win over the Chicago White Sox.
Right now, it's not a big deal, and the Texas Rangers will be cautious with him to ensure it doesn't become one.
Hamilton said he tweaked his hamstring on his game-winning double with two outs in the bottom of the ninth Sunday against the Boston Red Sox.
"I felt it coming around first and it kind of grabbed a little," Hamilton said. "And I felt it as I slowed down coming into second base.
"I had treatment all day Monday, but I didn't feel like I could wrap it and work through it. I don't think it's a huge deal."
Manager Jeff Banister originally had given Hamilton Sunday off to avoid just this type of injury.
Hamilton, who missed spring training as he recovered from shoulder surgery in February, spent a couple of weeks in extended spring training before starting his minor league rehab assignments.
"We talked about it when we first started this process about the lower half of the body. That's always my biggest concern with position players," Banister said. "You can go condition on a bike.
"You can condition on a treadmill. You can go run on a track, but until you get into the every-day grind of nine innings and being on your feet for the amount of time that you're on them, it's hard to condition your body for that."
Hamilton is hitting .273 with five runs scored and five RBIs in seven games with the Rangers. Delino DeShields replaced him in left field Tuesday.
"It would be different if I was an infielder where you don't have to run full speed all of the time," Hamilton said. "I don't want to run full speed, let it out and really pull it."